Blood of the Covenant
by karmadog
Summary: An AU story set during the original trilogy. Explores how events might have unfolded if Obi-Wan had not been killed, as well as his relationship with his former apprentice and said apprentice's adult children.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **Star Wars belongs to George Lucas and Disney.

**Chapter One: A Call Answered**

_"__You were my brother! I loved you!"_

_Like hell you do._

_Where were you, Master? Where were you when my mother died, when my apprentice was discarded like scrap metal? When the council thrust their distrust in my face, after all I had done for the Republic? When I feared for the lives of my wife and unborn child? Where were you?_

_But I cannot think. It is enough to stay conscious, with the searing pain._

_And you walk away yet again. You don't look back. And you dare to say you loved me._

_If you loved me you would end it. But you don't._

_You left me to burn._

Obi-Wan's eyes snapped open. He was beginning to dread meditation, the visions and memories were so bad. Of course, they had been almost more than he could handle in the few years after the fall of the Republic. Then they had died down for over fifteen years. And now, now they were starting up again—but now they were not simply the memories replaying through his mind. More and more often he had relived the nightmarish scenes from…Vader's viewpoint, and he had no idea why. The only reason he could think of was that they still shared a bond…the bond between master and padawan was a strong one, after all. And the thought disturbed him. That he shared a unique bond, however faint, with a Sith lord. He knew that such bonds were not unique to two people either—he would have a faint connection with anyone else his former apprentice had a bond with, as he had with Ahsoka. And that meant…Palpatine.

Obi-Wan shoved the thought aside, but the vacuum it left was instantly refilled with the images of his vision. It had not been simply a replay; he was fairly certain Vader had been in too much pain at the time to truly ruminate on all the ways in which his former master had failed him. No, these were thoughts that Vader had most likely stewed on over the past, well, nearly two decades. And for some reason it still tore at Obi-Wan to know that that was how Vader remembered him. He found himself wondering under what circumstances Vader had shared this vision with him. Had he been meditating? Unlikely, Anakin had never had the patience for that. Although maybe almost twenty years had matured him in at least one respect. Had he been asleep? How did he even sleep? Obi-Wan had not met Vader face to face since that fateful day on Mustafar, but he had seen the damage done with his own eyes and had watched enough news to know how much Vader relied on medical assistance. He was a walking emergency room.

Obi-Wan sighed. Anakin would have hated that lifestyle. He had always been very physically active.

And suddenly the happy memories started tearing at him again, even the ones that didn't seem so happy at the time. At least everything hadn't gone to hell yet. Fighting by Anakin's side, being scared shitless when Anakin was behind the steering rod, being teased by Anakin for his stuffiness—Obi-Wan slammed down that train of thought. It would do no good.

Looking up at the stars, he thought, _When did it all go wrong, Anakin? Where did I go wrong?_

He wasn't sure what he was expecting. He wasn't really expecting the warm tones of Anakin's voice, slightly annoyed, even angry. He certainly wasn't expecting the deep baritone of the medical nightmare that he saw on the news.

Whatever he expected, what he received was silence.

* * *

><p>Obi-Wan heaved another sigh, lifted himself of the sand dune with a groan, and began his walk back home.<p>

Obi-Wan was not ten minutes on his trek when he felt a tremor in the Force—a small one, but large to him, because it was accompanied by a Force signature he knew well—Luke's. It was only because of prolonged exposure to the boy over the years that he knew the signature—truth be told, it was nothing like Anakin's. There was a hint of it, so perhaps it was affected by genetics. But mostly, it was Luke's own. Perhaps, if Padmé had not been blind to the Force, Luke's signature would have resembled hers. But there was no way to tell.

Whatever the case, Luke was—or would be—in trouble. Primal fear struck Obi-Wan's mind like a blaster hit. Grabbing the hilt of his light saber, Obi-Wan ran in the direction from which the emotions were emanating.

Within a matter of minutes he could hear the braying of Sand People, and then he was on top of the scene.

The first thing he saw, of course, was Sand People. They took one look at him and fled. Over the years, Obi-Wan had begun to take this for granted. It had taken him a long time to find out why they had such a vehement fear of Jedi. When he had found out it was due to a crime Anakin had committed, he was already so deep in grief for his old padawan that he could no longer find it in his heart to be horrified or even surprised that the massacre of a village could be added to Anakin's list of crimes—although the fact that it had been before even their exploits during the Clone Wars unnerved him slightly.

When the area had cleared, Obi-Wan could see a prone form in the sand. Luke. There was no cause to worry, not yet. His presence shone bright. Obi-Wan ambled over the dune and came to crouch down beside the boy, checking his pulse. As his fingers travelled to the boy's neck, he paused.

It had been a while since he had seen the boy's face up close. Force, he looked like Anakin. The triangular face shape, the cleft in the chin, the unruly sandy blonde hair. And Obi-Wan knew that deep blue eyes hid behind the closed lids. He remembered Anakin at this age.

Obi-Wan furrowed his brow and continued to check the boy's health.

A familiar series of bleeps interrupted him.

Turning to the alcove in the nearby rock face from which the sound had emanated, Obi-Wan smiled at the white and blue dome of R2D2. What on Earth was he doing on Tatooine? Beckoning with a finger, Obi-Wan said, "Come here, my little friend. Don't be afraid."

_Is he badly injured?_ R2 beeped in a no-nonsense fashion.

Looking back down at the face that held so much of Anakin, Obi-Wan smiled. "Oh, don't worry, he'll be alright."

In fact, he was coming to. The eyelids fluttered, revealing those painfully familiar eyes. Obi-Wan hurried to help him up to a sitting position. "Rest easy, son. You've had a busy day. You're fortunate to be all in one piece." How many times had he had to tell Anakin that?

The boy shook his head and blinked his eyes as if orienting himself. Looking up at Obi-Wan, he squinted his eyes in confusion. "Ben? Ben Kenobi? Boy, am I glad to see you."

Obi-Wan gave a weak smile and heaved himself from his sitting position. "The Jundland Wastes are not to be travelled lightly." _Here I am, _Obi-Wan thought. _I just met up with the kid and already I'm back to reprimanding a Skywalker for his inherent recklessness._ Helping the boy up onto a nearby boulder, he said, "Tell me, young Luke: what brings you out this far?"

"This little droid," he said gesturing to R2. "He's searching for his former master, but I've never seen such devotion in a droid before." Luke looked pensively at the droid, then back at Obi-Wan. "Ah, he claims to be the property of an Obi-Wan Kenobi. Is he a relative of yours, do you know who he's talking about?"

Obi-Wan lowered himself slowly onto a boulder across from Luke, flabbergasted. Who in the galaxy would be asking for him? With his real name? Except… "Obi-Wan Kenobi," he said slowly. "Obi-Wan." Recovering himself, he looked back up at Luke. "Now that's a name I've not heard in a long time. A long time."

"I think my uncle knows him," Luke said. "He said he was dead."

"Oh, he's not dead. Well, not yet," Obi-Wan said with a smile.

"But you know him?"

"Well, of course I know him. He's me." Obi-Wan tapped his chest as he said this. Becoming nostalgic again, he said, "I haven't gone by the name of Obi-Wan since, oh, before you were born." Not long before he was born, but anyways…

Luke, recovering from his confusion, gestured to R2. "Well, then the droid does belong to you."

"I don't seem to remember ever owning a droid." Obi-Wan still wasn't sure why R2 was here. Anyways, it was the truth. As a Jedi, he hadn't owned many possessions at all. But it would be hard to explain to Luke that it was originally his mother's. "Very interesting."

The sound of a braying Sand Person interrupted them. Returning already. Lifting himself off the boulder, Obi-Wan said, "I think we'd better get indoors. The Sand People are easily startled but they'll soon be back, and in greater numbers."

_Aren't you forgetting something?_ R2 beeped.

Luke whirled around, frowning, then said, "Ah, 3PO," and raced off.

3PO? As in C3PO? Obi-Wan shook his head. Hopefully Anakin wouldn't come to join the blast-from-the-past party he was currently entertaining. That was one piece of nostalgia he knew he wasn't ready to handle.

* * *

><p>They walked back to Obi-Wan's dwelling place in relative silence, Luke and Obi-Wan perspiring under the weight of C3PO. About half an hour with the droid and Obi-Wan could see he hadn't gotten any less annoying. Obi-Wan didn't think he'd ever know what had possessed little Anakin to create that thing.<p>

The irony of the situation wasn't lost on Obi-Wan. He had just received a vision from Vader, and now here he was with Anakin's son, the droid made by his own hands, and his wife's droid. How so many things had coincided at once was a mystery. The Force works in mysterious ways. As far as Obi-Wan knew, both droids had been in the possession of Bail Organa before they had somehow come to Tatooine. Which meant Bail was probably in trouble. Or perhaps Leia—she was now a public figure, too.

Once they were within the confines of Obi-Wan's house, Luke got to work on C3PO. "So, why do you go by Ben?" he asked as he worked. Small talk. Obi-Wan smiled. When was the last time he had had to make small talk? Well, big things must be happening for R2D2 to come looking for him. And Luke was an adult now—Force, did that make Obi-Wan feel old. Now was as good a time as ever to divulge at least some of his identity to Luke, and his relationship with his father.

"Anonymity from the Empire. Your father would have found it funny that his own son doesn't even know my real name."

Luke glanced up briefly, interestedly, from his work. "You knew my father?"

"Yes, we go back even before his time as a Jedi knight in the Clone Wars."

At this Luke looked away from his work again, surprised. "No, my father didn't fight in the Wars, he was a navigator on a spice freighter."

Obi-Wan felt a thrill of annoyance run through him and immediately quelled it. Just what had Owen been telling the boy? This would be a little harder than he initially thought. "That's what your uncle told you. He didn't hold with your father's ideals, thought he should have stayed here and not gotten involved."

"You fought in the Clone Wars?" Luke asked.

Obi-Wan paused. He supposed the way he had been talking about it did seem as though he had personal experience. He covered his moment of confusion with a chuckle. "Yes. I was once a Jedi knight, same as your father." Force, did that bring back memories. Obi-Wan leaned back against the wall behind him, lost in memories.

"I wish I'd known him." Luke's voice broke into his thoughts.

Obi-Wan started and suppressed a sigh. What did he say to that? He wished Luke had known him, too. But he wished he'd known Anakin Skywalker, the hot-headed, stubborn young man who would put himself into life-risking situations to save the ones he loved. He hoped Luke would never have the misfortune of getting to know Darth Vader very well. "He was the best star pilot in the galaxy," he reminisced aloud, "and a cunning warrior. I understand you've become quite a good pilot yourself?"

Luke gave a modest side nod of his head and turned back to his work. What a good kid. Anakin would have been so proud. Obi-Wan furrowed his brow. "And he was a good friend." And then a thought struck him. "Which reminds me—I have something here for you." He lifted himself up slowly and walked over to the chest where he kept Anakin's light saber. Picking it up, a flood of unsavory memories accosted him. The conditions under which this light saber had come into his care. It felt almost blasphemous to give the saber to Anakin's son under the pretense that it had been in the care of a family friend all of these years. He was glad Luke did not know the particulars of the situation…yet. "Your father wanted you to have this, when you were old enough, but your uncle wouldn't allow it." Or at least he assumed. "He feared you might follow old Obi-Wan on some damned idealistic crusade, like your father did."

At this point, C3PO butt in, addressing Luke. "Sir, if you'll not be needing me, I'll close down for a while."

"Sure, go ahead," Luke answered distractedly. Obi-Wan noted with a smile that Luke's attention was riveted on the "family heirloom." "What is it?" he asked, standing.

"Your father's light saber. This is the weapon of a Jedi knight," Obi-Wan said, handing the saber over to Luke with a feeling of finality. "Not as clumsy or random as a blaster. An elegant weapon for a more…civilized age." He sat back down as Luke ignited the saber. "For over a thousand generations the Jedi knights were the guardians of peace and justice in the Old Republic, before the dark times. Before the Empire."

Luke sheathed the saber again and turned to Obi-Wan with a thoughtful look. Sitting down, he asked, "How did my father die?"

Obi-Wan faltered for a moment. How in the galaxy did he answer that one? He'd gone over many stories in his head over the last two decades, Bail and he had both done so. But they had never come to a conclusion on what they should tell the twins. Bail was all for simply telling the truth to Leia when she matured a bit, so secure was he in the fact that it would have no sway over Leia's ideals. "Leia knows she's adopted. And she knows her real father is the one that tucked her in every night when she was young. I have no question where her loyalties would lie. Actually, it would probably make her more antagonistic towards Vader," Bail had said. Obi-Wan knew Bail spoke the truth; Leia was as stubborn as her biological father. If she were to know the truth of her heritage, she would most likely feel betrayed by Vader more than anything else. But the problem was, she would also feel betrayed by Anakin Skywalker. And, despite all the crimes Anakin had committed as Vader, Obi-Wan couldn't bring himself to push Luke and Leia to hate the memory of their father, of the brash, overly-protective Anakin Obi-Wan remembered. And besides, Luke was much more impressionable, and from their short conversation it was clear Luke held some sort of hero worship for the father he had never known. No, he couldn't risk it—with either of them. He thought of the ways he had coped with the reality of what his beloved padawan had done over the last two decades and said carefully, "A young Jedi named Darth Vader, who was a pupil of mine until he turned to evil, helped the Empire hunt down and destroy the Jedi knights. He betrayed and murdered your father. Now the Jedi are all but extinct. Vader was seduced by the dark side of the force."

Luke frowned. "The Force?"

Obi-Wan kept forgetting how little the boy knew. After all, he didn't even know who Darth Vader was, so sheltered was Tatooine from the rest of the galaxy. What his father would have said if he'd known Luke was unaware of what the Force was at his age. "The Force is what gives the Jedi power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us, penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together," he said, gesturing.

Luke nodded, but Obi-Wan recognized the Skywalker expression for "clueless."

_That message is waiting for you in my memory banks. I'm not getting any younger,_ R2 bleeped sarcastically.

Obi-Wan could hear the unspoken amusement at his bald faced lie in R2's chirps. He raised an eyebrow and said, pointedly, "Now let's see if we can't find out what you are, my little friend, and where you come from." _Don't push it, droid. I'm on thin ice as it is._ His fingers moved across R2's controls briefly, and a fuzzy hologram of none other than Leia Organa appeared.

"I saw part of the message, you—" Luke began, but Obi-Wan interrupted.

"I seem to have found it."

"General Kenobi," the image of Leia began, "years ago you served my father in the Clone Wars. Now he begs you to help him in his struggle against the Empire. I regret that I am unable to present my father's request to you in person, but my ship has fallen under attack and I'm afraid my mission to bring you o Alderaan has failed. I've placed information vital to the survival of the Rebellion into the memory systems of this R2 unit. My father will know how to retrieve it. You must see this droid safely delivered to him on Alderaan. This is our most desperate hour. Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope." She looked away suddenly as if wary of something, and bent to fiddle with what must have been R2's controls. Her image petered out.

Obi-Wan was left with the feeling of having his stomach shoved down into the pit of his belly. Leia…she was most likely now an imperial hostage. Force, how had she grown up so fast? And she would be an important enough figure to warrant the possible inclusion of Darth Vader in her captivity. Oh, Force, what if she did come head to head with Vader? What if, Force forbid, there was an interrogation involved? Many fears assaulted Obi-Wan simultaneously. Poor, headstrong little Leia…it was as if his own niece had been captured. And if Vader brought her to any harm himself…the idea completely assaulted Obi-Wan's basic set of morals. He realized the situation was not directly his fault, but if Leia happened to be interrogated by Vader…Force, that would be one more thing for which Obi-Wan would never be able to forgive himself.

He gradually realized that Luke would be looking for a response. And he realized, the time was now. It was all coming to a head. He leaned towards Luke. "You must learn the ways of the force if you're to come with me to Alderaan."

Luke startled. "Alderaan?" Then he chuckled and rose. "I'm not going to Alderaan. I've gotta get home, it's late, I'm in for it as it is."

"I need your help, Luke. She needs your help. I'm getting too old for this sort of thing."

Luke paused and looked back at R2, and with a jolt Obi-Wan realized Luke had the expression Anakin used to have on his face when Obi-Wan mentioned the now late Senator Amidala. Oh, Force, that was not what he had meant to inspire. He'd never even thought of that. He'd just meant to trigger the joint Skywalker-Amidala hero syndrome. Oh well; he could tell them after the princess was rescued. Besides, Leia was a headstrong, capable young woman. She would never go for someone like Luke. He hoped. He couldn't imagine he was even wondering about this.

"I can't get involved, I've got work to do," Luke said in a half-attempt excuse. "It's not that I like the Empire, I hate it, but…there's nothing I can do about it right now. It's such a long way from here."

Obi-Wan frowned. Now he had no idea where that came from. Probably just from being raised by Owen and Beru. "That's your uncle talking."

"Oh, God, my uncle," Luke muttered in exasperation, moving away from where he was leaning against the wall. "How am I ever going to explain this?"

"Learn about the Force, Luke."

Luke shook his head and made for the door, then stopped. "Look, I can take you as far as Anchorhead. You can get a transport from there to…Mos Eisley or wherever you're going."

That was a start. Now a little push. "You must do what you feel is right, of course." Obi-Wan said, leaning back and folding his arms over his chest.

Luke sighed and simply looked at him with the sheepish look of someone who is doing something against their better judgement.

**Notes: **To those who may have been waiting for a DS9 Trek fic I promised, I apologize...the Force led me to the Wars side. Since there is too much canon to possibly stay true to, I am going off the assumption that the prequels are mostly true, except for where they clash with the originals, and that at least some of the Clone Wars miniseries is true. I will play with some things just to explore how the characters would handle it. Some scenes will be copied straight from the originals. Have fun and please review!


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Star Wars belongs to George Lucas and Disney (still not sure what I feel about that).

**Chapter Two: Help Enlisted**

Senator Bail Organa stared at the bottom of his glass. He had no idea what number he was on now. It didn't matter. The Rebellion didn't matter. Alderaan didn't matter. Nothing mattered anymore.

Leia was dead.

He had received the message late that afternoon. It was electronic text, from an address somewhere in between Alderaan and Tatooine. He would take the time to figure out its exact origin later. Right now he couldn't think.

His little girl was gone.

Technically, it had been in the line of duty to the Rebellion, but not really. She had gone down with the ship in a space-faring accident. He wasn't sure if that was worse, because it made her death meaningless, or better, because it meant that she hadn't died due to her involvement in Bail's underground society.

But the fact remained that if Bail hadn't gotten her involved in the Rebellion, she would still be alive today, safe on Alderaan. So maybe there was no good way to look at it.

He wanted to go to Breha, so that they could grieve together, but he knew Breha just wanted to be alone. That was how she dealt with it. That's how she'd always dealt with grief. And in lieu of a wife with which to share his sorrows, Bail turned to the bottle. That was also nothing new.

His console beeped. Force forsake it, he did not need to be bothered right now. Peering down at the console through bloodshot eyes he saw the words "Ben K." flash across the top of the screen. Through his grief he still managed to feel confused. Obi-Wan? What would be the chances that Obi-Wan would contact him so soon after the failed attempt to communicate with him through his…? Force, he couldn't even say her name anymore. Pathetic. Leia, he made himself think. Leia. And he had to conquer a fresh wave of nauseating grief before he answered. A fuzzy blue hologram of the old jedi popped up in front of him.

"Bail, thank goodness," the withered voice filtered through, "you should know that Leia—Force within, Bail, what's wrong?"

"I already received the news," Bail said. Force, he couldn't get the tremor out of his voice. And to think he had the fate of an entire planet in his hands. But he couldn't even bring himself to repeat the news of which he spoke, then he wouldn't be able to stop the tears.

"Well, yes, Bail, but it's not the end of the world—"

"Not the end of the world?! She was my daughter! What, did you think I was just holding her for the last nineteen years for the purposes of—of our organization? She may have just been a tool to you, to use against your old apprentice, but she was my daughter! I raised her! Force forsake it, Ben, I should never have gotten her involved." And with that Bail's voice lowered again and he looked away.

"Careful, Bail. This could be monitored. But there's no reason to lose h—wait. What have you been told? Is Leia—"

"Dead, yes. Why would you call me if you didn't already know?"

Obi-Wan seemed to lean back in his chair, as if everything had suddenly been drained from him. "I knew she'd been captured. I didn't realize…I thought the interrogation would—"

"Captured?" Confusion once more made its way through the haze of grief in Bail's mind. "Her ship was destroyed in an asteroid field."

It was Obi-Wan's turn to look confused. "That's not what her message through R2D2 said."

"She managed to get R2D2 to you?"

"Yes. She said her ship had fallen under attack." And then something seemed to dawn on Obi-Wan, just as it was dawning on Bail.

"They lied to me," Bail said flatly. His grief was beginning to clear. He realized he should now be terrified, not simply for Leia but for the Rebellion as well, but his overwhelming grief left a wake of relief so wide and long that he couldn't bring himself to jump into action mode. "What do we do?"

"I'm going to try to locate her. Luke and I are going on a rescue mission."

"Luke?! Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Look, Bail. Vader's probably already come into contact with Leia. Not much more damage can be done on that front. And Luke needs to get involved at some point, too."

Bail didn't know how to respond. In reality, what happened to Luke was none of his business. Leia was his business. "What should I do?"

"That all depends. Why did you contact me in the first place?"

Bail furrowed his brow. He was still in shock over the whole situation with Leia. It felt like whiplash to suddenly start talking politics.

"It has come to my attention that the imperial navy has finished the construction of a battle station of enormous power. It has been rumored that the station will be able to destroy entire planets." Seeing Obi-Wan's look of shock, Bail continued, "From recent imperial campaigns, I would venture that its primary targets will be planets housing certain bases."

Obi-Wan nodded slowly. "Contact the leader. Some of the locations may need to be retired. Certainly the ones on heavily populated planets."

"They wouldn't possibly—"

Obi-Wan silenced him with raised eyebrows. "They wouldn't?"

Bail chewed his bottom lip, realized he was doing it, and stopped. "I'll tell Breha. She can take care of domestic…issues." Hopefully the cell on Alderaan had not yet caught imperial attention. He wished he could stay on Alderaan, but he owed a duty to the other cells as well. Besides, Alderaan would be an unlikely target. It would tarnish the imperial reputation if they targeted such an outwardly loyal and peace-loving planet as theirs first. Yavin IV, though, that could be a problem.

Bail sighed. What he really wanted to do was tag along with Obi-Wan. As a father, he should be out finding his daughter. As the prince regent of Alderaan, though, and moreover, a leader of the Rebellion, he should be making a few calls to Chandrila VII and possibly make his way to Coruscant at this point.

"Good," Obi-Wan butt into his thoughts. "I'll contact you when I am in a secure location again." Without another word, he logged off.

Turning to the enormous bay window behind his desk, Bail stared out at the stars in the night sky. _Force, wherever Leia is, let her make it through this._

* * *

><p>They had found the Jawa tank demolished.<p>

Obi-Wan had been none too happy, to be sure—one more dead-end. But Luke had immediately begun to sulk.

"It looks like the Sand People did this, alright," Luke said, traipsing around the ruins. "Look, there's gaffi sticks, bantha tracks, it's just I've never seen anything this big before." He threw down a piece of debris.

Obi-Wan bit back a sigh. The boy was really trying to find any excuse to stay on Tatooine. This was at least one flaw that Obi-Wan hadn't had to deal with when training the boy's father. "They didn't," he said, patiently, "but we are meant to think they did. These tracks are side by side, Sand People always ride single-file to hide their numbers."

Luke's brow furrowed. "These are the same Jawas that sold us R2 and 3PO."

Obi-Wan clapped the boy on the shoulder and turned him around to face the tank. "And these…blast points, too accurate for Sand People. Only imperial storm troopers are so precise."

Luke gave him an odd look, and broadcast one thought so loudly through the Force that Obi-Wan almost responded to him. _Where have you been for the last twenty years, old man?_ Obi-Wan frowned. Well, Palpatine probably had neglected the intensive training of the storm troopers over the years, to save on money. Still, the blaster marks were definitely not those of a Sand Person.

Luke turned back to the tank. "But why would imperial storm troopers slaughter Jawas?" As if suddenly realizing something, he turned his gaze on the two droids. Then he spoke again, rising horror in his voice. "If they traced the robots here they would have learned who they sold them to and that would have led them back…home…" Luke petered off, as he was already running towards his speeder.

"No, wait, Luke!" Obi-Wan cried. "It's too dangerous!" But the boy was already off.

Obi-Wan had a sickening sense of déjà vu.

* * *

><p>A few hours later, Obi-Wan was back at his hut, once again angry with himself. He should have found a way to follow the boy.<p>

_Yes, but you were left without a speeder._

How pathetic. Twenty years ago he had been risking his life every other day, and now he couldn't follow Luke because he had no transportation? Had exile made him go soft?

The sense of déjà vu he had begun to feel earlier had blossomed to the point of invoking nausea. He remembered twenty years ago, when Anakin had gone racing off to the same hut on a mission to rescue his parental figure, only to find her brutally murdered. And then he had slaughtered an entire village. And Obi-Wan had told him not to go, and then hadn't followed him. He hadn't been there when Anakin had needed him the most. He hadn't been there, and now Anakin was no more. And Obi-Wan was repeating the same mistake with Anakin's son.

Obi-Wan sighed and put his head in his hands. Maybe Owen and Beru weren't dead. Maybe the droids hadn't been traced back to them. Maybe the storm troopers had had mercy on them.

_Now that's bantha shit and you know it._

What would Luke do? It's not as if he had a village he could slaughter in revenge.

_Stop, Obi-Wan. He's got just as much of his mother's genes as he does his father's. It's not like he's a freaking clone. He's his own person._

Obi-Wan felt sick.

There was a faint knock on the door frame to his hut.

Obi-Wan froze. Had the storm troopers traced the droids all the way to him?

_Yes, because an imperial storm trooper would knock politely._

"Luke?" Obi-Wan called softly.

Luke entered the hut slowly, looking down at the ground.

Obi-Wan stared at him for a moment, then said, "Luke…Luke are they-?"

Luke didn't answer the unfinished question for a while, then emitted a strangled sob.

"Oh, Luke," Obi-Wan breathed, rising as swiftly as his arthritic knees allowed. And before he understood what he was doing, he had the boy in a hug. "I'm so, so sorry, Luke." Force, and it was because of him. If the droid hadn't come looking for him…

Luke stiffened against him and Obi-Wan suddenly realized that he was hugging what was, for all intents and purposes, a neighbor kid he didn't really know, not the son of his dearest friend. He moved to let go, but Luke suddenly returned the hug, and whispered, "Thank you, Ben. I…I don't know what to do. They're dead. I can't believe they're dead. I…I'm so angry…"

Obi-Wan squeezed his eyes shut against tears. Doubtless Anakin had felt the same way after his mother was so brutally murdered. But he hadn't been there for Anakin then. There had been no consoling embrace for his apprentice. If only this was twenty years ago, and the boy in his arms was Anakin, not Luke…

But the past was gone. And he might not have been there for his apprentice, but he could be there for Luke now. "Luke…"

Luke pulled away from him. "I would have been there. I should have been there."

Force, why did he have to sound so much like Anakin, but for the deep tone of his late apprentice's voice? "Luke, don't go having survivor's guilt. You couldn't have known. Nothing about this situation is your fault. There is only one criminal involved in this heinous crime—the Empire."

Luke's head snapped up, tears running in tracks down his face. His brow furrowed. "The Empire," he choked out.

Obi-Wan paused. If this situation would pit Luke against the Empire, then perhaps some good could come out of the tragedy.

And then Obi-Wan was disgusted for even thinking along those lines. Besides, it would be out of revenge, and that would only start him down the path of his father.

With a powerful, and frightening, look of resolve in his face, Luke said, "Ben. I have nowhere, no…no home to go back to. Perhaps…perhaps now would be the time to start looking for a ship."

Oh, to hell with it. "I understand, Luke. Let's get the droids in the speeder."

* * *

><p>As an attendant threw the last of Bail's belongings in the shuttle, Bail and Breha hugged their goodbyes.<p>

"Don't worry, flower, Obi-Wan is on his way to rescue her as we speak," Bail whispered into Breha's ear. Breha nodded wordlessly into his shoulder.

Their embrace lasted a long time, and Bail didn't want to let go. Finally, Breha stepped back, and looked him in the eye. "Be safe," she said. "My daughter's life is on the line, I don't want my husband's to be, too. Force, I wish I could just keep you here on Alderaan, safe and sound."

Bail didn't know what to say. For some reason, he had a sense of foreboding, like perhaps she was right. He felt like this might be the last time they saw each other. So maybe he would be in serious danger.

He pushed the thoughts away, and simply said, "I'll be back by your side as soon as possible. And so will Leia. I love you, Breha."

"I love you, too," Breha said softly.

Swallowing, Bail turned to climb into the shuttle. He would see her in a few days.

But as the shuttle pulled off the landing dock, he couldn't shake the feeling that he should be savoring every last image of her through the polished transparesteel of the shuttle window.

**Notes:** Thanks to all who reviewed! I am still in the stage of original scenes, which I should break soon. I intend to keep Bail alive, to explore the dynamic between him and Vader when Leia's heritage is revealed. Don't worry, Vader will come in soon! I just have to set up some exposition stuff first! Please keep reading and reviewing!


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: **Star Wars belongs to George Lucas and Disney.

**Chapter Three: Passage Obtained**

Luke had never actually been in a cantina before. His friends had gone, but his uncle and aunt…well, they had kept close enough tabs on him that he had never ventured farther than was needed to pick up supplies for the farm. The place was dark and noisy, filled with haze (which had a suspicious odor to it). When the local music was placed over top of it, it was a downright sensory overload.

Ben immediately walked up to the bar as though he belonged there. It was vaguely comical, eccentric old Ben with his little cloak and hood and his graying beard walking right up to a two meter Wookie.

The humorous image broke through Luke's haze of grief, mocking it. Actually, it wasn't really grief, since Luke was still in such a state of shock he didn't really even have the urge to cry. Uncle Owen—how disgusted with himself he was now for complaining as much as he had. And Aunt Beru—a thousand images of being tucked into bed, sitting on the floor playing with his model TIE while the smells of her cooking filled their small hut—Luke crushed the thoughts. Better to focus on something else.

That something else presented itself petty quickly, as it turned out. "Hey! We don't serve their kind here," the bartender growled, pointing a pudgy finger at 3PO.

"What?" Luke asked stupidly, still trying to pull himself out of his reverie.

"Your droids. They'll have to wait outside, we don't want them here." The din in the cantina grew louder as other patrons noticed the commotion.

Luke turned to 3PO and muttered, "Why don't you wait out by the speeder, we don't want any trouble."

"I heartily agree with you, sir," 3PO intoned, and walked towards the exit.

Luke sidled up to the bar. He had the vague feeling that he had no idea what the hell he was doing here. Awkwardly, he pulled on the bartender's sleeve. "Uh…can I have one of those?" he asked, hitching his chin in the direction of the drink the bartender was currently fixing. He really had no idea what it was, but it at least looked like it could be digested with minimal difficulty. The bartender complied, and handed him his order with a faint smirk.

Luke sighed and began to people-watch. After several moments of this, he realized just why his aunt and uncle had never let him near the cantina.

His people-watching session was abruptly ended when a rather disgusting looking humanoid with the strangest double chin Luke had ever seen clapped him on the shoulder and began speaking in a less-than-pleased tone to him in something that was most definitely neither Tatooan nor Basic. Luke shrugged him off and tried to turn back to his drink, but the alien would not desist.

What seemed to be a human (although he had obviously been in one too many bar fights—the scars surrounding his left eye attested to that) butt into the conversation, and explained, "He doesn't like you."

"Sorry," Luke said, annoyed. Gods. He turned back to his drink once more, when the man pulled him towards him again.

"I don't like you either. You just watch yourself. We're wanted men. I have the death sentence on twelve systems."

"I'll be careful," Luke said exasperatedly.

The man grabbed him roughly. "You'll be dead!"

What in the eight hells of Mustafar was this guy's problem? But Luke never got the answer to that question, because Obi-Wan's soft voice cut in. "This little one's not worth the effort. Now let me get you something."

Apparently that was not enough for the man, because he shoved Luke back across the room and into a table. Luke sat there dumbfounded for a moment, then looked up again when a howl of pain rent the air. He was just in time to see Ben deactivate his light saber. The brawler lay on the ground. It took a while for Luke to notice that his arm was no longer connected to the rest of his body. Luke slowly raised himself. A few seconds later he realized he was staring open-mouthed at his old neighbor. He shut his mouth as Ben approached him.

"This is Chewbacca. He's first mate on a ship that might suit our needs," he said, gesturing to a very tall, furry humanoid. Luke fished through his memory to draw up a name for the species and failed.

A few minutes later they were at one of the tables, seated across from Chewbacca and roguish man who looked to be in his thirties.

"Ben Kenobi," Ben said, nodding respectfully to the man.

"Han Solo," the other replied in an annoyingly cock-sure tone. "I'm captain of the _Millenium Falcon_. Chewie here tells me you're looking for passage to the Alderaan system."

"Yes, indeed. If it's a fast ship."

"Fast ship?" Solo scoffed indignantly. "You've never heard of the _Millenium Falcon_?"

"Should I have?" Ben replied coolly.

"It's the ship that made the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs!"

Ben cocked an eyebrow, and it took Luke an embarrassingly long time to realize that statement made very little sense.

Solo looked sheepishly indignant this time. "I've outrun Imperial starships, not the local bulk-cruisers, mind you," he said, seemingly trying to save face. "I'm talking about the big Corellian ships now. She's fast enough for you, old man. What's the cargo?"

"Only passengers. Myself, the boy, two droids, and no questions asked." Luke bristled a bit at "the boy", but didn't say anything.

"What is it? Some kind of local trouble?"

"Let's just say we'd like to avoid any imperial entanglements."

"Well, that's the trick, isn't it? And it's going to cost you something extra. Ten thousand in advance."

Alright, that was too far. This cocky son of a cow was going to swindle his poor eccentric neighbor. "Ten thousand? We could almost buy our own ship for that!"

Solo smirked. "But who's gonna fly it, kid? You?"

What a…! "You bet I could. I'm not such a bad pilot myself! We don't have to sit here and listen—"

"We haven't that much with us," Ben said as if Luke hadn't even opened his mouth. "But we could pay you two thousand now, plus fifteen when we reach Alderaan."

"Seventeen, huh!" Solo muttered, with the smarmy look of someone who has just cheated on a test and gotten away with it. After a few moments, he said, "Okay. You guys got yourself a ship. We'll leave as soon as you're ready. Docking bay ninety-four."

"Ninety-four," Ben repeated.

"Look's like someone's beginning to take an interest in your handiwork," Solo said casually.

Ben was out of his seat and headed toward the door before Luke could even figure out what Solo meant by that statement. As Luke trotted after him, feeling quite stupid, he saw storm troopers out of the corner of his eye. Oh. Luke picked up the pace and hurriedly slipped past patron towards the light of the entrance to the cantina.

**Notes: **Sorry for the long wait! No excuse, I just got lazy. Okay, I promise Vader and Leia will be in the next chapter. And once I get to a certain point in the plot I will divorce this story from canon pretty quickly. Thanks for the reviews, and please keep making them! They are helpful and keep me writing!


End file.
